Feds order recycled plastics firms to stop deceiving consumers

It doesn’t get much more despicable than deceiving consumers who want to help the environment by buying products made using recycled products, but that’s what the Federal Trade Commission says two companies have done.

The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it has settled the second case this year against a plastics products manufacturer who deceived the public with false advertising claims.

The latest firm to come under fire for making false claims is American Plastic Lumber, based in California. The FTC says the company advertised its products such as picnic tables, benches and trash cans as being made almost completely from recycled plastics such as milk jugs or detergent products.

In reality, the firm’s products contained less than 79 percent recycled plastics, the FTC says. About 8 percent of American Plastic Lumber’s products contained no recycled plastics and almost 7 percent were made with only 15 percent recycled plastics.

The proposed consent order prohibits the firm from making deceptive claims about environmental benefits for any product or package.

In February the FTC took similar action against N.E.W. Plastics, which also does business as Renew Plastics, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of plastic lumber products such as outdoor decking and furniture.

N.E.W. Plastics agreed to stop making allegedly unsubstantiated claims about the recycled content and recyclability of two of its brands of plastic lumber. It had claimed its products were at least 90 percent recycled plastic, but the FTC said that was false.